Mongo3451

As GM I would... Hire Bruce Arians and recommend he retain Dave Toub. If chooses not to, it's all good. View film with Arians to determine key pieces and how to make them work and what dead weight to purge. Out: Hester, Spaeth, Davis, Idonije, Spencer, Okoye, Campbell and Hayden IN: Melton, Louis and Url (only if it's friendly) Untouchables: Marshall and Peppers. They are the only players we have on our team that would go to the Pro Bowl on every team in the NFL. Now, if you can convince any player to restructure to make the team better, go for it. But I'd tread lightly because it comes at a price down the road. I would strive to continue the cap excellence that has been practiced the last decade. This allows flexibility in time of need. We have 3 players with significant trade value on our team. Two were mentioned above, the other is Cutler. I look at offers, but subsequently have to fleece a trade partner to pull the string on any. In FA, I send a private jet to Miami stocked with booze and hookers to get our new left tackle. Sign a serviceable pass catching TE, while developing Rodriguez. Draft BPA in rounds 1 and 2 and hopefully come up with a starting LB and OG. Possibly trade down. (Only for an extra 2nd or 3rd though) Draft BPA that we feel can become impactful players. Send a message to team that this season, all jobs are being looked at and nothing less than champions will not last.

So, in looking at these assessments: not one Bears lineman made it to the baseline of the average bar. Not one? Lovie and Tice must have given false hope to Emery. Thus... Look at Carimi's #, it's ugly sitting beside the decent looking numbers of Louis. Go to the other side and see Webb as our highest rated OL sitting next to some ugly numbers from Rachal and Spencer. Is Webb that much better than the OG's next to him? Is he that much better than Carimi? Just sayin, Webb IS improving and he's 24 years old. He may not start next year, but he is in the plans for the future

He's definately in my top 3. Love that guy...

Well said...

So, are you saying Lovie's dismissal was a mistake?

Me too.

That wasn't meant in regards to the players feelings, rather it was meant for the future progress of the team. I care about what Tillman feels, I just don't care what he thinks of moves above his pay grade.

No more shorting the OL. We gotta fix it first and fix it right.

This quote is a great testimony to Smith's character and I believe that's who he is as a man. Everyone wants a leader like that. What I want more though from my leader is to throw Gatorade on him. Lovie will always be remembered for what he brought to this franchise. That being said, I find it very insignificant what the players say or think about it at this point. Change is coming and it's their job to move on and get behind it.

We should plan to be without him.

Absolutely!

I watched the press conference on chicagobears.com and was very impressed. If you've got 20+ minutes, listen to what he has to say...

Yeah, Kiffins tweak was the linebackers. Especially, the dropback coverage from the MLB.

I like him. If he has the connections to get a top notch OC and DC and develop a philosophy, he can be successful.

Just to clarify, because I think you were speaking to my comments on Kiffin V Dungy. Dungy brought the Cover 2 to the Bucs, but it was no longer effective untill Kiffin adapted it into what became the Tampa 2. They both share the same base philosophy, just Kiffins model is the one used today.

Thanks for all the input guys. The reason I brought this up was from an article I read about the coachabilty of Cutler. My true opinion is this. Lovie should have been fired years ago. I still believe him using Ron Turner as his 1st scapegoat was actually when he jumped the shark as our coach. How many years ago was that? That's about 2 years after we started clamoring for OL. That being said, I think Cutler also has coachability or instinct issues that a good coach could have resolved by now. Lovie didn't.

Glad you're back!

Wanny wasn't as bad as Mike McCaskey made him look. Mikey robbed us a few SuperBowls.

Been doing some thinking about Lovie's dismissal and a thought came to mind... Cutler has a year left on his contract and I don't think Emery knows what to do with him yet. To start, QB is the most important position in football. If Lovie were to go into next season as coach, with Emery knowing he doesn't know his ass from hole in the ground regarding QB's. How does Emery evaluate Cutler through Tice and Lovie. He's already heard a ton of BS regarding the OL. Now Emery has the opportunity to bring his guy in to look at Cutler. Trust me, that evaluation will set the franchise forward or back. To me this move was/is great for the future of our team.

Agreed. I'm not sure I'd even entertain his agent with a phone call.

Please don't try to insinuate I was saying Monty Kiffin invented the cover two. He was just simply the architect of Tampa's. Not Dungy. As far as Indy is concerned, their defense was usually the achilles heel. And most in Indy believe that one Superbowl out of Dungy was insufficient for the talent they had. Plus they had this guy named Bill Polian that built that team, who widely regarded as the best GM ever. Oh, and #18...

Let me start by saying I'm not a big Gruden guy, also not high on Dungy. That being said, I like to look at it like Dungy had his chances and couldn't get it done.(eerily similar to Lovie) Chuckie went in and made the offense productive, which was got the team over the hump. BTW - the genius behind Tampa's defense was Monty Kiffin, not Tony Dungy.

Chuckie

Schefter just reported Bears have sent out request forms to interview HC positions!!!!!

Agreed. I want money thrown at the LT position and draft a beast of an LG. Let our current guys battle for roster spots. I do believe a few of our guys belong in the NFL. Competition in the off season will help.